Leading Today, Transforming Tomorrow: Cultivating the Leader Within Nikki Russell Volunteer Initiatives Manager United Way of King County

Explorations of Leadership  Exploring our identity in the 21 st Century  Understanding leadership  Appreciating leadership role  Cultivating the leader within

What’s In a Name Volunteer Coordinator? Volunteer Manager? Volunteer Resource Manager?

Defining the Role of the VRM What is our role in the nonprofit/ public sector?

An Image of Ourselves

Volunteering Today Today Yesterday Greater variety Greater sophistication Increased liability More people volunteering High Expectations partner Fewer Opportunities Simple Tasks Liability not a concern People volunteering more time Low Expectations subordinate

From Collective to Reflexive Volunteering… Collective Volunteering Collective action through membership in nonprofits, clubs, churches, etc. Reflexive Volunteering Reflexive (self-referential) action, based on individual interests, motivations and needs. Hustinx and Lammertyn, 2003

What Are the Implications? ThenNow Management Recruitment Placement Supervision Performance Review Recognition  Engagement  Cultivation  Negotiation  Support  Performance Measurement  Acknowledgement

Shifting Our Paradigm Position- centered Person- centered Metaphor The MachineThe Team

Redefining Your Role Small Group Exercise: Shifting Our Paradigm Come up with a 21 st Century title and description of the “volunteer program manager”

Leaders of Volunteer Engagement we lead the way to effective 21 st Century volunteer involvement

Leadership Vs Management What is the different between our role as managers and our role as leaders? Is there a difference?

Our Role as Managers Managing tasks and people assigned to those tasks Processing and Monitoring Information Monitoring Internal and External Environments Allocating resources according to the goals of the organization

Our Role as Leaders Organizational Leadership: The ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members

Leadership Vs. Management Complementary but different ManagerLeader  Tasks  Getting things done  Compliance  Positional power  People centered  building commitment and motivation  Influence  Personal power

The Ability to Influence Suggests Power What Kind of Power?

Exploring Leadership Leadership: a form of social power The ability to influence people in favorable ways to engage in behaviors they would not probably do on their own (in the absence of a leader)

Types of Power  Positional Power Derives from hierarchical position or professional designation.  Personal Power Associated with the characteristics of individuals rather than the characteristics of the position occupied

Sources of Power Positional: Legitimate (decision-making power tied to position) Reward (ability to define salary and benefits) Coercive (ability to penalize) Informative (controlling the diffusion of information) Personal: Expert Power (perception of knowledge) Referent power (affection or admiration)

Power and Leadership Positional power is about compliance Management predominately employs positional power Personal power engenders commitment through influence Leadership = the ability to influence people in favorable ways.

Leadership Implies Trust and Relationship Leaders require followers who trust and accept the full influence of leaders This is different from subordinate: Someone who occupies a specific hierarchical position in the organization who may or may not be under the influence of a leader

Our Role As Leaders… To help staff and volunteers understand…  the central goals of the organization,  how the actions of volunteers contribute to such objectives, and  what individual and collective benefits result from volunteer engagement

As Leaders of Volunteer Engagement We Build Organizational:  Commitment  Capacity  Competency Betty Stallings’ Thoughts on the Position of the Leader of Volunteer Engagement

Effective Leaders Build trust and commitment by…  fostering self-efficacy and providing the means for successful attainment of performance  clarifying the linkage between performance and individual and collective reward

A New Image of Ourselves Group Sketch The 21 st Century Leader of Volunteer Engagement

Born to Lead?? People are not born leaders. People must cultivate/ hone leadership skills and traits Being a leader is a journey

Leadership Skills

Key Leadership Characteristics Honesty - Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Competent - Your actions should be based on reason and moral principles. Visionary- Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values. Inspiring - Display confidence in all that you do. Take charge when necessary. Intelligent - Read, study, and seek challenging assignments. Fair-minded - Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. Broad-minded - Seek out diversity. Courageous - Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Straightforward - Use sound judgment to make good decisions at the right time. Imaginative - Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

Cultivating the Leader in You Embark on the Leadership Journey Read about leadership Learn from people of influence Recognize and tap your personal power Expert Power – be knowledgeable and informed Build relationships of trust

Cultivating the Leader in You What steps can you take to cultivate the leader in you?

Leading the Way Leadership is not about position. We all have the capacity and the responsibility to lead Cultivate leadership and become truly effective in your volunteer engagement role.

Leading Volunteer Engagement The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality The last is to say “Thank You” In between, The leader is servant